1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of beverage preparing apparatus and more particularly to apparatus which processes a beverage ingredient such as coffee beans into particulate form just prior to beverage preparation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous devices are available for beverage preparation wherein a beverage ingredient, such as coffee beans, is prepared by grinding into particulate form just prior to the combination with a heated liquid, such as water, to prepare a beverage. The advantage in grinding the coffee beans immediately prior to their use and beverage preparation is to prevent flavor loss which would otherwise occur if the ground beans were exposed to the ambient air for any length of time prior to beverage preparation. Such devices are exemplified by those disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,327,615; 3,107,600; 3,038,492; 2,517,073; 3,967,546; 4,007,675. While these devices are capable of grinding predetermined quantities for various uses such as in commercial coffee machines or continuous coffee making operations, devices for providing manually adjustable predetermined quantities have been desired. Therefore, in those instances, especially for home use, where a particular quantity of beverage is desired for preparation from a quantity of coffee beans stored in a hopper, for a predetermined number of cups of coffee for consumption immediately after preparation, a need has existed.